This is good news, but what would be even better would be for Starbucks to stop using dairy milk in their drinks. Cows are not the milk machines they are made to seem. They only produce milk when pregnant, just like humans do. Once their offspring are born they are taken away, and the females go on to suffer the same fate as their mothers do, and the males become veal calves and are slaughtered at a young age. Milk unfortunately only comes from a grieving and exploited mother.

IMSirius-I did not remove my post. It must have been taken down. I am well aware that this is not the dining section of masslive. I am not a supporter of PETA and feel that much of the work they do is pointless and counterproductive. I simply practice compassion and was trying to offer a different perspective in relation to this sad story.

I find it difficult to understand why this act of violence comes with a penalty but that purchasing and serving the carcasses of dead animals to our families does not. Why is Ozzie so different from the chickens, pigs, cows, turkeys, etc. who we see as food? The thing is, he wasn't. All animals feel pain and have a vested interest in living out their lives.

When we teach our children that is is acceptable to consume animals that we imprisoned and slaughtered (the same animals they grow up reading about and loving), how can we ask why such an act of violence occurred. As a society, we accept the slaughter of innocent animals for our own needs. That perhaps has a bit to do with why such senseless acts of violence occur.

What is interesting and saddening about this is that people are enraged about what happened to this duck, yet many of them consume animals daily that are made to live in horrible conditions and are then slaughtered. While we do not directly kill the animals that wind up on our tables, we are in essence paying someone to commit this act of violence so that we can dine on their flesh. There is a connection between Ozzie and the animals who wind up on our plates. Most of us fail to recognize it though. Both Ozzie and the animals we consider as food feel pain and fear and want to live out their lives to their natural end.

Hearing this saddened me as this was a cruel crime against a defenseless and innocent animal. This story also reminded me that if we choose to consume animal products, we are essentially committing similar crimes against the animals that wind up on our plates. When we purchase animal products for consumption, we are paying someone else to house and ultimately slaughter animals for us. If you do not like what happened to this poor duck, perhaps exploring compassionate eating would be a worthwhile endeavor. Becoming vegan can save up to 95 farm animals per year. Please visit www.chooseveg.com or www.tryveg.com for more information. Also, this FAQ is very informative http://bostonvegan.org/faq/what-is-a-vegan. Thank you for considering another point of view.

Hearing this saddened me as this was a cruel crime against a defenseless and innocent animal. This story also reminded me that if we choose to consume animal products, we are essentially committing similar crimes against the animals that wind up on our plates. When we purchase animal products for consumption, we are paying someone else to house and ultimately slaughter animals for us. If you do not like what happened to this poor duck, perhaps exploring compassionate eating would be a worthwhile endeavor. Becoming vegan can save up to 95 farm animals per year. Please visit www.chooseveg.com or www.tryveg.com for more information. Also, this FAQ is very informative http://bostonvegan.org/faq/what-is-a-vegan. Thank you for considering another point of view.

I teach at a middle school in Holyoke. This year, only a randomly chosen fraction of our students were chosen to take a health class. It seems to me that this issue is addressed minimally with the students. It only makes sense that with a problem so large, targeting it would be a priority, but this has not proven to be the case.

As a teacher, I would absolutely expect nothing other than to be fired for leaving school grounds during the school day with students. I feel that is entirely unacceptable no matter what the situation.

Memd- I am extremely strict in regard to the play fighting I see. I am not exaggerating when I say that this is a constant with my students. It's in the classes, halls, recess, lunchroom, etc. I have strict rules about it for the students I teach. If I see them play fighting three times in two months, privileges are taken away (this year it was the field trip). I explain that there are better more productive ways to interact with peers. I really do believe that it boils down to what they see at home, neglect at home, and coming from a home where little variety in language in spoken. What upsets and frustrates me is that many of the teachers I work with don't take this behavior seriously and there are little or no consequences at the school for this behavior. And that's because we unfortunately have bigger fish to fry. But, in my opinion, you need to start at the beginning, and I don't see that happening.

All I see as a teacher in Holyoke is kids pushing and swatting at each other. This play fighting often interrupts into violence. It's become unbearable to watch and seems to have become many of the kids main means of communication. So much physical contact and no little words and conversation. I really do hope that my school takes an initiative to stop this.

Thank you for the thoughtful comment, taxedtothemax.
For anyone wanting to know more, this recent video from an undercover investigation done by the organization Mercy for Animals is very informative in regard to calf treatment. Viewer discretion advised.
http://www.youtube.com/user/mercyforanimals?blend=7&ob=5#p/u/6/6366t4ramD8

This recent video from an undercover investigation done by the organization Mercy for Animals is very informative in regard to calf treatment.
http://www.youtube.com/user/mercyforanimals?blend=7&ob=5#p/u/6/6366t4ramD8

wmassgirl, I appreciate your comment. This calf was headed for slaughter and would have been killed anyway. I am going to take this opportunity to share that dairy production leads directly to the veal industry. Quick explanation:
In order for cows to give milk, they must be pregnant. Dairy production requires that a cow must continually be impregnated so that she can continually produce milk. Her male calves are then taken from her to become veal cows. Thus, consuming dairy leads directly to the slaughter of baby cows.
It is my hope that this incident enlightens a few people to this issue.
For more information, please have a look at this informative link:
http://www.mercyforanimals.org/dairy_and_veal.asp